African Stars to watch at CT CUP

Crystal Palace and Sporting Lisbon boast several African stars who will be aiming to impress for their club at the inaugural Cape Town Cup, which kicks-off in the Mother City this coming weekend.

The two teams will battle South African sides SuperSport United and Ajax Cape Town respectively, as the start of the 2015/2016 football season draws ever closer.

With three days to go to the much anticipated pre-season tourney, we take a look at three African stars that will dazzle the crowd come Friday.

Yannick Bolasie - Crystal Palace and Democratic Republic of Congo

Arguably Crystal Palace's standout player last season, Yannick Bolasie enjoyed a stellar 2014/2015 season for both club and country.

The French-born wide-man was pivotal as DR Congo finished third at the 2015 African Cup of Nations, while he was instrumental in helping Palace to a 10th place finish the Premier League.

Bolasie scored four times, assisting a further 11 goals in 34 league appearances for the Eagles, notably netting a 11 minute hat-trick against Sunderland in April - Palace's first top flight hat-trick since 1991.

The 26-year-old has been strongly linked with a move away from the club, but for now the Capetonians can look forward to him bamboozling the opposition in a Palace shirt.

Islam Slimani - Sporting Lisbon and Algeria

Sporting Lisbon fans will be hoping to keep hold of in-demand Algerian striker Islam Slimani, who has been tipped with a move away from the Portuguese outfit.

The 27-year-old hit-man enjoyed a slow rise to prominence, finally stamping his authority in front of goal with a outstanding 2014/2015 season - scoring in the final, from open play and in the penalty shootout, as Sporting beat Braga to to claim the Portuguese Cup.

In total Slimani netted 12 times (grabbing a further four assists) in 21 league games for the Lions.

Marouane Chamakh - Crystal Palace and Morocco

While he might not have enjoyed as good a season as the above-mentioned players, Chamakh is still a well-known footballer, having previously donned the famous Arsenal jumper.

The 31-year-old missed a fair chunk of the 2014/2015 season due to a nagging hamstring injury and will be hoping for an injury free 2015/2016 campaign.

The Morocco national scored a mere two league goals last season, with an in-form Glen Murray getting the nod ahead of the former Bordeaux star.

Chamakh did manage to end the season on a high, netting in a final day win over Swansea to help the Eagles fly to a 10th place finish.